Q: We are travelling to Barcelona in May. We have booked a Hotel for 4 nights from 8 May to 12 May and when we arrive we then intend to search for an apartment to rent until about 25 May. Do you recommend that we book accommodation prior to arriving in Barcelona or do you think that there should be a number of economical apartments in reasonably central locations for us to choose from when we arrive?

A: I highly recommend you arrange you accommodation well in advance of your trip. May is in the peak season in Barcelona and you may have difficulty finding any accommodation if you leave it until you arrive here. If it was off-peak season you would probably find something easily enough but during peak season it is most definitely worth booking your accommodation in advance whether it be hotel or apartment.  Barcelona is not the same as other European cities it has a very high occupancy rate for accommodation throughout the year.

I recommend you also visit the following page that has more information on this topic

When to book my Barcelona accommodation?